


Five Times Bucky Barnes Proposed, and the One Time Steve Rogers Proposed Right Back

by LeafontheWinf2



Series: Hidden Figures [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: 1930s, 5 and 1, Alpha Bucky Barnes, Awesome Sarah Rogers, Brooklyn, Child Bucky Barnes, Child Steve Rogers, Domestic Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Getting Together, Just cause they’re kids and Steve needs to be legal, Langley Verse, M/M, Omega Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Seriously all of Brooklyn is Involved in this, Slow Burn Steve/Bucky, angry liberal Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-05-20 05:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14888958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeafontheWinf2/pseuds/LeafontheWinf2
Summary: Steve Rogers is the love of Bucky’s life. Everyone knows this, it’s an absolute fact. Now if Bucky could just get him to accept his proposal then everything would be perfect.Steve just wants to live his life without all these people telling him what to do. And he’ll make an honest man out of Bucky when he’s good and ready damnit.





	1. Proposal One- Bucky Age 5, Steve Age 4

**Author's Note:**

> So I am going to continue this universe, but before I get into more angst (Ultron, Winter Solier, etc) I thought I should show my two boys getting together. So here’s six snapshots of the boy’s childhood in Brooklyn. I’m going to be honest, most of what I know if from San Francisco in the Great Depression (because that’s where I’m from), and Europe (cause I wrote my thesis on it) so please bare with me if I’m historically inaccurate in any way.
> 
> Also says slow burn, but that’s only because they’re children and need to be legal to actually get married. That’s really it.

In James’s opinion, Tim Miller was a no good rat. He was a tall, thick sort of boy who liked picking on other kids. If anyone so much as blinked at them, Miller would be wading forward with fists flying. And when his fists weren’t flying, then his mouth would be running with the absolute worst filth anyone had ever heard. Just cause he was an alpha, he seemed to think the world revolved around him. 

He was an awful, horrible, no good person and James just wanted to punch him to get him to shut up. What did it matter if James’s father was gone lots? He was busy working the night shift at the factory, trying to scrape by and provide for the family. George Barnes wasn’t out drinking, or partying, or seeing other women. He was a good, honorable father who James loved very much.

Which was why he wanted to punch Miller, but couldn’t. You see, last week Miller had been going after James’s mother (saying nasty things about her). And James had swung and hit Miller with all of his strength, knocking the jerk end over end. Which should have been the end of it, except a teacher saw and got James in trouble at home. So he’d been scolded and solemnly promised his father not to fight Miller ever ever again, and a Barnes man would never break a promise so James wouldn’t hit him. 

“Everyone knows your father’s going to walk out on that mother of yours,” Miller spat, bulldog face screwed up and red.

But James really wanted to hit him. Just to make his mouth stop talking, so badly he could feel angry tears starting to well up in his eyes. “Just go away,” James snarled, calling on what alpha instincts he’d inherited to try and puff up to seem like more of a threat. 

Miller’s stupid face curled into a smirk. “I don’t think I will. You’re not so tough Barnes. No, you’re just a big crybaby.”

And even though they were alone in a back alley, the insult had James’s flushing in rage and embarrassment. “I’m not a crybaby!” It was the worst possible insult anyone on the playground could give. 

“Yes you are,” Miller’s stupid voice was rising, so loud James wasn’t able to hear the tiny footsteps going past the alleyway stop, “You’re just a stupid crybaby who no one likes. Just a dirty Irish rat like the rest of your dirty family and everyone would be better off if you were gone!”

James grit his teeth, trying not to sob from the rage and frustration roiling in his belly. His fists shook while a sick feeling started up in the pit of his stomach. He was either going to swing, or throw up. Really, one of the two was the only option at this point…

“Hey! That’s not a very nice thing to say!” 

James blinked, surprised by the very tiny voice that had joined the conversation. Just as he was shocked when a very tiny, blond boy pushed past him with the angriest expression James had ever seen on someone’s face. 

The little boy was the tiniest thing James had ever seen. He barely reached James’s chest, all big blue eyes and gold hair. He had to be the skinniest boy ever seen as well, with one delicate hand balled into a shaking fist while the other clung to a two-by-four for some reason as he glared up at Miller.

Miller, who also seemed stunned at being faced with the small ball of vibrating fury that was spitting mad. “What?”

“I said,” the tiny boy snarled (which should not be adorable but totally was), “That you were being mean! So apologize!”

James and Miller traded confused, wondering what was honestly happening right now. Because this could not be real. Tiny little boys never just jumped into fights to defend people. It wasn’t done.

“Uh…” Miller, stupid dog face he was, looked confused as his eyes turned back to the boy, “No?”

Blue eyes narrowed dangerously, “No?”

More certainty settled onto Miller’s face. “That’s right. No. I’m not going to apologize to Barnes. What are you going to do about it?”

The boy nodded, determination filling his small frame, “I’ll fight you.”

“Wait, what?” James demanded, taking a hesitant step forward. “No, you are not going to fight Miller, you’re going home!”

Angry blue eyes glared at James. “Don’t tell me what to do jerk!”

James opened his mouth to keep yelling because seriously, Miller was going to pound the kid into a pulp, when Miller apparently decided he had enough. With a furious alpha roar, the massive boy swung a meaty fists at them. James, terrified of watching his little protector get his skull bashed in, reached out to drag the boy out of the way.

Only to stumble back in absolute agony. His vision went black for a moment while red stars burst behind his eyes, nearly driving James to his knees from the pain. Trembling hands clutched his nose, stunned to feel blood pouring out and how it had bent off to the side. Broken, his nose must be broken. But Miller hadn’t punched him, so what had broken it?

Oh, James realized as his vision cleared to the sight of Miller bent over and wheezing as the kid connected the chunk of wood to his gut, that’s what happened. He must have stepped forward into the kid’s backswing as he wound up to hit Miller. That had been what broke his nose. 

The kid though, didn’t seem to have noticed as he cocked back the two-by-four for another swing. His furious blue eyes were narrowed on Miller, a small growl leaving him even as he started to take in wheezy breaths. “I said,” the kid spat out, “Apologize for being mean.”

Jesus. What even was this?

Miller seemed to be of the same thought process, his eyes wide and confused as they glared at the blond. For a brief second, he warred with taking another swing at the boy before some sort of sense caught on and he scrambled to his feet to take off at a run down the alleyway. Which really, James expected, the jerk was a coward at heart. 

Except the kid didn’t know that. He appeared stunned, weapon lowering a fraction as he processed the sight of Miller sprinting away. Then, his tiny frame began to puff up in righteous indignation.

“Um...kid?” James offered, voice fuzzy from the broken nose.

But the kid wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. “Hey!” he yelled after Miller’s back, “Get back here and apologize!” And then the boy was rushing after Miller, his weapon trailing behind him as they ran.

Oh boy, James thought watching the kid run, this was going to end very badly. Which was what motivated James to stumble back to his feet and go rushing after the kid. Yes, the same one who had broken his nose but it wasn’t done on purpose so James wouldn’t count that against him. And besides, no one had ever stuck up to Miller before (let alone for James!) and he couldn’t let such a hero get clobbered.

“Hey kid! Kid! Stop, you’re going to get hurt!” James screamed, as he tore through the alleyway tracking the kid down.

Luckily, he didn’t have to go to far. Just around the block really, before he saw the kid propped up against the side of a building trying to breathe through wheezing breaths, the hunk of wood abandoned on the side. The righteous face was turning pale, lips starting to become blue as James stumbled to a stop besides him.

“Jesus,” James whispered, nervous hands fluttering around the boy’s sides, “Are you alright?”

“As..asthma,” the kid gasped out, bright blue eyes wide. His little legs gave out and James just had to catch him, really. It wouldn’t do to let his pint sized savior hit the unforgiving pavement was it. And oh, his tiny savior was an omega. James could smell the candy sweet scent as the little boy pressed into his chest.

“Right, asthma. I don’t know what that is,” James muttered, holding the boy close and starting off down the alleyway at a run, “I’m gonna take you to Mama. She’ll know what to do to make you better. She’s the best, alright? She’s the one who put ice on my knee when I fell of the fire escape.” Just a little bit further and he’d be back home. “Hey kid, what’s your name?”

“St..Steve.”

“Steve huh. Well, I’m James. James Buchanan Barnes. Hold on a bit more, alright?” James thundered up the steps and pushed his way inside, yelling out loudly for his mother while he did. All the while, he made sure to keep Steve from getting jostled as he rushed through the small apartment. “MAMA! I need help! Steve isn’t breathing”

“James Barnes, why are you making such a racket! You know you’re father is trying to rest before his shift,” Winifred Barnes demanded, storming into the living room. Her expression of righteous fury washed away at the sight of her bloodstained son holding a tiny omega boy who was struggling to breath. “James, what on earth happened? And why is Sarah Rogers son here!”

“Tim Miller was picking on me, and this kid made him stop and hit him with a bat!” James gasped out, settling Steve onto the couch, “He tried to make Miller apologize but stopped breathing or something!”

Winifred frowned, reaching out to gently touch the broken nose. “And you’re nose? Did Tim Miller do that?”

“No! Mama, that was an accident,” James whined, squirming away to climb up on the couch to sit next to Steve, “You gotta fix Steve!”

“It looks like he’s starting to do just fine on his own,” Winifred pointed out dryly, and it was true. Steve was breathing a bit easier as he leaned into James’s side. “Now you boys stay here. I’m going to go get Steve’s mother real quick. Understand?”

“Yes Mama,” James promised faithfully before going back to cuddling Steve, whose lips were starting to turn pink again. “That was a really brave thing to do. Fighting Tim Miller like that.”

“Nu huh,” Steve wheezed out, “Anyone would have done it if they had the chance.”

“No they wouldn’t. They never do. So that means you’re special,” James carefully pulled Steve into a hug, “Daddy said I need to marry someone special. So will you marry me?”

Steve’s nose curled up a little in disgust. “I don’t want to get married. Mami got married and had to move to a different country. I don’t want to be forced to move to a new country.”

“Oh,” James deflated a little, feeling crushed by the rejection. “I can understand that.”

“But I do want a best friend. Those are better than married persons,” Steve sent a shy smile up towards James. “Do...do you want to be my best friend?”

“Yeah! I do,” James grinned, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Steve’s cheek, “We’ll be best friends forever and ever!”


	2. Proposal Two- Bucky and Steve Age 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a question about how gender norms work in last chapter that I figured I could mention now, mainly when does Steve start being out in dresses. The answer to that is around age twelve (the average age people first go into heat). Until then he’s considered a child so doesn’t have to follow gender norms as much. Mostly cause Sarah doesn’t care.
> 
> However, that doesn’t mean people don’t try to force them on him, like in this chapter. If you read the pervious work, this chapter comes two weeks after Steve first announces he’s going to study math. So just keep in mind how frustrated, ashamed, and angry he is when dealing with people going after him for being an omega cause it’s relatively new.

Ignoring the stunned voices of his classmates and the furious bellow of his teacher, Steve threw himself against the door of the classroom. The metal door screamed open, allowing Steve to stumble into the hallway and escape that horrible place. 

The school day had begun like any other really. Steve had come back from his latest bout of illness and found himself incredibly behind everyone else in class. Especially when it came to math. Math, the absolute bane of his existence. It never made sense, no matter how long Steve spent trying to understand the formulas and how the numbers fit together. He could study it until his brain felt like it would melt, nothing mattered.

Last week he’d had to sit still and suffer the indignity of having his teacher call him sweetheart and told him to give up on school because his pretty little head couldn’t handle complex thought. Sure, Steve had sworn then and there to become a math genius (along with various bodily harm on the teacher) but it was harder to put into practice. There were so many building blocks that were needed for math that Steve just didn’t have. So really it hadn’t been a surprise to fail his next math test. 

But when the teacher said loud enough for everyone to hear that the only thing Steve was good for was bearing pups? That was the ultimate amount of humiliation on top of everything else that sent Steve running from the classroom with furious tears streaming down his face. 

He hated being an omega. Hated it with his very being. Despised how people would look down at him as if he were an especially stupid pet. Wanted to be sick when people murmured how tragic it must be that someone so sickly probably wouldn’t be able to carry out his duty and provide an alpha with pups. Or how lucky his mother was that Steve hadn’t come into heat and started distracting the upstanding alphas around him.

It was awful, horrible, and Steve just wished he was a beta so he’d be free of these expectations.

“Steve! Stevie wait!”

Brushing angry tears from his eyes, Steve determinedly ignored Bucky calling for him and kept going. Sure, Bucky was his favorite person in the whole world (after Mami) but he didn’t want his best friend to have to stare at the utter failure Steve was. 

“Stevie stop, please don’t do this!” A strong hand wrapped around Steve’s forearm, and he cursed that Bucky was faster than him even as he was turned to face his best friend’s concerned expression. That same expression that crumpled when he saw the tears streaming down Steve’s face. “Oh pall, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“Shut up. I’m not crying jerk,” Steve gasped out, wiping uselessly at his leaking eyes even as he continued to sob. 

His sobs turned into agonized wails when Bucky gently drew him into a tight hug. Steve just let go, screaming his rage and frustration into Bucky’s strong chest even as his tears soaked the other boy’s shirt. “You’re going to be alright,” Bucky whispered, nuzzling at the top of Steve’s head sweetly, “Breathe deep for me pall, come on. We don’t want you having an asthma attack.”

“What does it matter?” Steve pushed himself away, “I’m too stupid to accomplish anything. I’m just some pathetic omega who do nothing with their life.”

“That is not true. You’re the best guy I know! And one day the world will see it too!”

“It doesn’t matter! Nothing does because I’m doomed to be some alpha’s mate and carry their pups and that’s all anyone ever talks about!” Steve shrieked, so frustrated with this stupid world that he didn’t catch how Bucky’s expression fell at his outburst. 

“Steve,” Bucky whispered, voice small and hurt, “Would it really be so bad to be mated?”

Steve fixed Bucky with a searching look, heart threatening to beat out of his chest at the question. “What?”

“Well, would it really be so bad?” Bucky mumbled, turning bright red and staring nervously at his friend, “To be mated to a good alpha? You know, like me?”

Years later, Steve would look back on this exact moment and decide that he was an absolute idiot. He would remember Bucky’s blush, his hopeful question checking in to see if Steve could ever want an alpha. Even more than that, if he could ever bring himself to want to be with Bucky. To get married, to build a life together, to be happy. 

But that was when Steve was an adult. One with much more life experience. Right now, in this moment he was only eight years old and still learning about the world. So with his very limited childish understanding of the world, what came next was understandable. 

“You...you agree with him,” Steve whispered, horror and heartbreak warring inside him. “You think I need an alpha. That I can’t do this, that I should just give up and get married!” 

Bucky’s eyes widened in horror, “What? No Stevie, that’s not what I meant at all…”

“I thought you believed I could do this,” Steve whimpered, backing away from his best friend (could he even call Bucky that anymore?), “You said...you promised! But you were lying!”

“No I wasn’t! Stevie I promise, I know you can do it and I’ll always help you,” Bucky begged reaching out for his Stevie, desperation filling him.

In that moment, all Steve could see was another alpha reaching to put him in his place. To tear him down and break him. And Steve, heart already shattering, couldn’t let that happen. So even though it broke his heart, he pushed Bucky away with all his strength somehow making the stronger boy stumble back, tripping over his feet to fall. “Don’t,” Steve whimpered, crying openly now as he stared at Bucky’s blurry prone form, “Just...don’t touch me. Don’t come near me. Just don’t.”

And then Steve was turning and running. Running away from heartbreak, running away from Bucky and everything he had once been to Steve. His lungs burned and his heart struggled, but somehow he managed to get home. He ran inside, slamming the door behind him as he sobbed angrily in the middle of his living room. 

Something that drew his mother from her bedroom where she’d been resting before her nightshift. “Steven? What on earth is the matter?” Sarah demanded, kneeling before her crying son to pull him into a hug, “Why aren’t you in school darling?”

“The...the teacher said I’m only good for having pups and that I’m too stupid to do school and then Bucky agreed with him!” Steve wailed out, wrapping his arms around her neck. 

“Bucky said what now?” Sarah demanded, eyebrows flying high in shock. Bucky Barnes was so head over heels in love with her boy that it was enough to give someone cavities. The thought of him saying anything hurtful like that to Steve was mind boggling. Crazy enough that Sarah had to get to the bottom of this whole mess. “Right then. Hold tight my boy.”

Steve wrapped around her like a baby monkey as she stood, tucking into her as Sarah walked back out the door and in the direction of the Barnes apartment. “Where are we going Mami?” was the pathetically asked question.

“We’re going to speak with Bucky and figure this whole mess out,” Sarah promised, striding across the ground with determination that led to the people from their neighborhood shrinking back in fear at the sight, “Then I’m going to kill your teacher for being a horrible person. Alright darling?”

Steve whined, “I don’t want to see Bucky anymore Mami…”

“Tough. Part of friendship is figuring this sort of thing out so you can keep being friends. So suck up those tears and we’ll figure this out,” Sarah placed a conciliatory kiss on Steve’s hair before knocking on the Barnes apartment door briskly. She didn’t need to wait long before a frazzled Winifred opened the door, her expression dropping into relief when she saw the Rogers there.

“Sarah,” Winifred breathed out, gesturing them both in the door, “Thank goodness you’re here. I don’t know what happened, James just came back from school early crying about how Steve hates him and never wants to see him again!”

“Yes they are both rather dramatic aren’t they,” Sarah muttered, “James is in the living room?” 

“Yes…”

“Good,” Sarah nodded, stepping into the room and seeing a miserable Bucky Barnes curled into a tiny ball on the sofa. He stared up at her with teary eyes, expression mournful and longing as he stared at Steve. Right then, Sarah mused even as she untangled Steve and dropped him onto the other end of the couch, this was reaching a level of ridiculous she didn’t want to deal with anymore. “Alright then boy,” Sarah demanded, “Tell me in your own words what happened to get you both so bent out of shape.”

Both boys stared sullenly at the floor. Sarah’s eyes narrowed dangerously, a warning growl in her throat, “Boys. Now.”

And with that the boys started talking. It was stilted, awkward as they talked over each other in some parts, both refusing to look at each other or their mother’s watching them. It was, Sarah decided halfway through, a childish misunderstanding. One she would rectify immediately to stop the amount of sniffling teary looks being shot at each other when the other one wouldn’t look. Seriously, Sarah despaired when the stories finished, what on earth was she going to do with these two? 

“Right. Okay. Thank you boys. Steven,” Sarah turned to her son, fixing him with a hard look, “Bucky never said he thought you weren’t capable.”

Steve looked up, expression mulish and a match for her’s. “But he said…”

“He wanted to know if you’d ever want to marry, someday far in the future. And he tried to tell you it wouldn’t be too bad if you did because married people support each other, and all Bucky wanted to do was support you so he tried to do that in the only way he could right then,” Sarah summed up, leaving her son wide eyed and thoughtful as she turned her attention to James, “Bucky. Darling. When a person tells someone that the only thing they’re good for is getting married, and your first response is to offer to marry them, it creates the impression that you agree with the first person.”

Bucky just looked confused, “What’s an impression?”

Right. Eight years old. “It means it sounded like you agreed with your teacher and thought Steve was only good for getting married,” Sarah said dryly.

Bucky, at the revelation, looked horrified as he whipped around to stare at Steve. “I never thought that Stevie,” Bucky whimpered, “I just want to make you happy!” 

Steve stared thoughtfully back, “So...you did just want to offer to support me? Like Mami said?”

“Of course!”

“Oh,” Steve smiled shyly at Bucky, “That’s okay then. Do you still want to be my friend? Even though I was mean to you?”

“Of course! I always want to be your friend,” Bucky was practically vibrating as he dragged Steve into a hug. Soon enough, the two boys were clinging to each other tightly. “And then we’ll get married so I’m always your friend!”

“No marriage until you’re both thirty,” Sarah cut in immediately, hands on her hips as she glared down at Bucky. 

Who turned to glare up at her over Steve’s shoulder, all angry alpha even though he still had all his baby fat. “Thirty is forever,” Bucky said seriously, “We can get married at ten.”

“Thirty five,” Sarah countered, inwardly delighting at how riled up the boy was getting. 

“Fifteen.”

“Forty.” Seriously, when did the kid get so fixated on marriage? He hadn’t been like this yesterday.

 

Bucky huffed, face bright red and pouting. “Mrs. Rogers! You don’t count up when negotiating! Mama said!”

“You do when you’re a Rogers kiddo,” Sarah huffed, cracking a grin before reaching out to ruffle Bucky hair, causing him to jerk away with an angry scowl, “Now the two of you go play while I talk to your mother.”

Steve, ever obedient with her (and with no one else), nodded as he slipped out of Bucky’s hold and off the couch. “Come on Bucky,” Steve offered as he held out his hand for Bucky to take, “You can help me understand fractions so I become a math genius like you promised.”

Bucky, clearly delighted, grinned and took Steve’s hand. “Okay!” And then they were scampering away down the hall, leaving their mother’s to stare incredulously after them. 

“We let them go play, and they decide to do math homework,” Sarah grumbled shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it, “When my parents let me play, we went out and threw rocks at the tans.” 

Winifred just gave her a look, clearly stating that she blamed Sarah for all the wildness is Steve (which was true, but really didn’t have to be acknowledged), “I’m so sorry for James. Yesterday George told him about marriage, and he’s apparently taken it to heart.” 

“So that’s where it came from,” Sarah mused, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, “It’s fine Winnie. Everyone is aware that those are going to end up getting married. My only hope is that they get married after Steve’s sixteen and not a day before.” Her son would marry young, that she knew, but sixteen was to young even if it was legal. 

Winifred nodded, clearly agreeing with the assessment. “What are you going to do about their teacher? Honestly, saying such things about Steve.”

Sarah grinned, dangerous and bright, “I thought I’d pay him a little visit. Remind him not to insult my little boy. In fact, I’m going to head there right now.”

“Poor man,” Winifred sighed, “Try to leave him alive, Sarah dear?”

“No promises.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My personal Sarah Rogers head cannon is Steve inherited all of his crazy from her. Mainly the insane desire to fight every living thing. In most of my universes Sarah got involved with the Irish revolutions and attempted to overthrow the British. Joseph, terrified she was going to get shot after the 1916 Uprising took her and fled to the US, where he joined the army to get the, both citizenship. 
> 
> Which is part of why I always write her as a complete badass. She is that mom who will go in swinging to defend her sweet baby boy, then take her baby boy home and teach him how to end someone.


	3. Proposal Three: Bucky and Steve Age Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of this chapter includes part of my head cannon about ABO gender norms in the 40s. My Dad grew up in the 50s, and he explained that he was allowed to wear shorts as a kid but had to wear pants when he turned thirteen cause he was an adult (Indont know if this was a social norm across the US, or just from his town in Indiana). 
> 
> That’s where this inspiration about when Steve wears dresses comes from. As soon as a kid has a heat or a rut, their gender is declared and they’re an adult so they have to dress appropriately. So alphas now wear pants after a rut, omegas wear dresses. Betas have to follow social cues like this when they turn thirteen so how you dress is a mark of your maturity in society.
> 
> I hope that makes sense (there is so much backstory for this universe in this story. Oh my god, what happened?)

Sitting at the end of the church pew, Bucky reached out to grab Steve’s wrist. “Stop fidgeting,” Buckh hissed, making sure to keep quiet under the priest’s homily, “You’re going to mess up your skirt.”

“I don’t care. It’s itchy,” Steve whined, fingers picking at the lace on the edge of his skirt that was digging into him. He was still flushed from his first heat, face pink and scent syrupy sweet that drew the eyes of the other boys to him when they’d walked to church.

And oh, Stevie had been the prettiest thing when he’d stomped down the tenement steps on Sarah’s heel in a sweet little white dress for church. The omega had been fuming the entire walk over, seething at being stuffed into lace and cotton instead of his normal shorts and suspenders. 

And Bucky understood. He’d been angry when he’d finished his first rut at ten and been informed he couldn’t wear shorts anymore, that he was grown and needed to wear pants. But you adjust eventually, and Steve would adjust too.

Except right now Bucky had to deal with him sulking and picking at his skirt. Which he still hadn’t left alone.

“Steve. Seriously. You’re going to ruin your skirt,” Bucky grumbled, pinning the tiny hands under his own.

“I don’t care. I don’t want to wear this stupid dress,” an angry sniffle was the first prelude to tears, something that terrified Bucky. He knew how to deal with screaming Steve, angry Steve, and fighting Steve. But tearful sad eyed Steve left Bucky floundering as he tried to help. “I didn’t ask for this Buck.”

“I know Stevie. Just a little longer than we can go home, alright? I promise. Then you can change,” Bucky murmured, lifting and hand to gently hold Steve’s hands in his own. 

“It won’t matter,” another little mournful sniffle, “I’ll just have to put it back on later.”

Bucky darted a nervous glance towards Sarah Rogers to check if she was watching. He blushed brightly when he met her unamused look, her raised eyebrows saying a million things as she deliberately flicked her eyes down to stare at this joined hands before raising them slowly to just. Stare at him. 

Bucky turned bright red. “Um…”

“Boys,” her cool voice made him hunch over while Steve just froze. “What seems to be the matter?”

Steve bowed his head, body shuddering as he started to sob silently. Teardrops staining the pure white skirt. Taking a deep breath, Bucky turned to face her. “Steve’s not feeling well,” Bucky whispered, “I think he might be sick Mrs. Rogers. Some rest would be better than sitting in a drafty church.”

Her eyebrow raised again and Bucky called on every alpha instinct not to back down. It was a bald faced lie to say the church was drafty. It was the best kept building this side of Brooklyn and warmer than the Rogers or Barnes apartments. Still, it would have taken a blind person not to realize how close Steve was to a complete meltdown. 

And Sarah was many things (absolutely terrifying mostly), but she was not blind. She also had years of wrangling her wild son under her belt, so it was with practiced ease that she pitched her voice just high enough for the gossips to hear without disturbing the rest of the congregation. “Steven sweetheart, you look a little flushed. James, will you escort him home for me? Just to make sure he’s safe.”

“Yes Mrs. Rogers,” Bucky quickly helped Steve get to his feet, once more amazed at Steve’s mom. He knew that everyone in the church would know that poor little Stevie was ill once again, which was why he had to leave and that good Barnes boy was escorting him like a gentleman. 

There would be no mention of Steve crying, or saying something awful about his dress, or his designation. Steve would take well meaning words about illness. He would not be able to take anyone cooing over his designation today. So Bucky would keep him safe and get him away from it all.

“Come on,” he whispered gently guiding down the street and back towards home, gently guiding Steve with a warm arm around thin shoulders. “Let’s get you home and get your face cleaned off.”

Steve just sobbed, angry and frustrated at the world. “I’m sorry I made you leave church Buck.”

“Don’t you worry about that none. God’ll forgive me for looking after my best guy,” Bucky dragged him up the stairs and into the Rogers apartment before quickly depositing Steve on the thin couch.

Kneeling down, Bucky quickly looked Steve over. His best friend had stopped crying, which was a good thing. Bucky would actually think now that Steve wasn’t crying, enough to be concerned that Steve was still sniffling and his cheeks were too pale for crying. But he wouldn’t comment on it, not when Steve was in this type of mood. He’d be more likely to bite Bucky that let him look after him. 

So Bucky wouldn’t talk for now. “How are you feeling?”

“Stupid,” Steve’s hands clenched into fists. “Ridiculous. Ugly and thin in this stupid thing…”

“I...I see the prettiest boy in the whole world,” Bucky whispered, nervous to talk but unable to be silent when Steve was cruel to himself. “I see my best guy.”

Steve sent him a rueful smile, “You’re too good to me Buck. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never need to know Stevie. I’ll never leave you.” And when Bucky leaned up to press a gentle kiss to Steve’s forehead, he could feel the start of a fever blazing. He knew he should get Steve in bed and fuss over him, but he didn’t want to upset his boy and ruin this moment because Steve was starting to smile again.

Three days later, Bucky regretted that he didn’t say anything when Steve collapsed walking home from school. When his best guy just crumpled into the gutter, collapsing in a pile of broken limbs and painful sounding cough which had been persistent for the last couple of days but Steve had brushed off. 

It was absolutely terrifying to have Steve gasping for breath and limp in his arms as he sprinted back to the Rogers home. Feeling Steve gasp and tremble was each nightmare Bucky ever had of living in a world with his Stevie by his side. So of course Bucky made good time and rushed into the room, knowing not to scream for Mrs. Rogers because she had the day shift and wouldn’t be home until five. 

So instead Bucky was the one who stripped Steve of his dress and got him tucked into his bed. It was years of practice that kept Bucky from losing his mind as he started preparing tea to help clear out Steve’s lungs and he began to gather all the blankets in the apartment and stacked them around Steve’s trembling body. 

He was so focused on getting the heavy winter quilt wrapped around Steve’s body that he didn’t notice hazy blue eyes opening. Or he didn’t until a shaking hand came to rest on his. 

And really, Bucky was helpless to do anything but gently hold that hand in his. “How are you doing Stevie?”

“I’m alright, head is just a bit fuzzy,” Steve whispered, head lolling to the side, “I’m sorry…”

“Hey now, none of that,” Bucky reached out with his free hand to gently brush sweaty blond hair from a beloved face. “Don’t you apologize for this.”

“You were supposed to play stickball with the other boys.”

“Doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except taking care of my best guy. Now get some rest, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

Except Steve wasn’t better in the morning, which he found out when he went to walk Steve to school and Sarah sent him away with a terse promise that he could visit after school, just go away James Barnes so help me god!

So of course Bucky had come running over straight after school and thrown himself through the door before Sarah even had time to process that he’d been knocking on it, shot off down the hall, and perched himself by Steve’s bedside. 

“Hey Stevie, I brought your homework with me. We’re going to have a lot to catch up on, we started geometry today and we can’t have you fall behind.” Bucky promised, happily chattering away as he pulled the textbooks out of his bag and started going over triangles and polygons and other things Steve would be determined to learn and excel at. It was so easy to keep his eyes on the book instead of looking over at the bed where Steve was lying unconscious and pale. So much more simple to pretend that Steve was just resting and that he wasn’t struggling to breathe. 

And that evening if Bucky cried helplessly when Sarah pulled him away to go home? Well. She would never tell, and Bucky would never admit it. Just like he wouldn’t admit that he went home, crawled into his mother’s lap, and just cried from the terror of potentially losing Steve until exhaustion pulled him down. 

The horrible pattern continued for the next week. Each day after school, Bucky would perch himself on Steve’s bed and softly whisper about what happened at school that day. He would wipe the sweat from Steve’s brow, press cool cloths to his neck, force water down a parched throat, and did just about anything he could do to keep Steve alive during that time. 

And each day Steve grew weaker and weaker. He went from being able to sit up with help, to being too weak to turn his head. Every breath was a struggle, a fight to keep frail lungs going just a little bit longer as the Rogers and Barnes families scrambled to get enough money to pay for a doctor to come and visit them.

When the doctor actually came to the apartment, Bucky found himself being dragged away from Steve’s side for the first time in three days despite his protests. No matter how he kicked or clawed or screamed, Sarah didn’t let up on his scruff as she dumped him end over end onto the council before physically blocking the doorway. 

“I need to be in there,” Bucky snarled, young body trembling from the first hints of alpha aggression as he glared up at her.

Sarah though was not impressed by his display. “The doctor needs to examine him, and you’ll just get in the way.”

“No I won’t!”

She raised an eyebrow pointedly at that, “Last time a doctor came to check on Steve, you bit him.” 

“He was being handsy!”

“He was checking Steve’s temperature,” Sarah huffed, an amused smile crossing her face unwillingly even as she leaned forward to pull Bucky into a hug, “Look. As soon as the doctor’s finished, I’ll let you back in there and you can start fussing over Steve again.”

Bucky nodded, forehead digging into her collarbone. “That’s fair I guess. But if he puts his hands where they don’t belong, I’m going to fight him doctor or not.”

“Fair enough.” Sarah pulled back, just far enough to get them both seated on the couch, “All we can do is wait now.”

And wait they did, pressed up against each other in quiet solidarity. It was the one time where they would ever get along smoothly. The typical friction between the young besotted alpha and long suffering, overprotective beta mother cooled off until Steve would get better. They were united in their worry, their devotion, their love and desire to make sure Steve was as comfortable as possible as he regained his strength. 

It was this quiet understanding that kept Sarah from sending Bucky home when the sky turned dark. It was also their understanding that had her drawing Bucky forward, warm arm around his shoulders, when the doctor opened the door and motioned them into Steve’s bedroom. 

The second he was past the doorway, Bucky was rushing forward to clamber onto Steve’s bed and curl up around the sick little omega. It felt so right to tuck his arm under Steve’s head, to bury his face on sweat soaked hair and just inhale the fact that Steve was still alive. 

Although the beta doctor’s stink was all over Bucky’s best friend, he realized as his nose wrinkled in disgust at the unfamiliar smell clinging to Steve’s skin. Every instinct Bucky had was screaming to replace that smell with his own, to rub his scent glands over Steve’s body and cover him with Bucky’s musk so everyone would know the omega was his. 

(He had only done that after a doctor’s visit once, when he was seven and Steve had whooping cough. Sarah had physically pulled Bucky off a giggling Steve and thrown him out the door before locking it, furious at the liberties Bucky had taken with her son. 

...Looking back at it, that was probably the moment when Sarah Rogers decided she did not like Bucky Barnes.)

The low murmur of voices was what brought Bucky’s attention away from his Stevie and back to the two adults. The doctor was packing up his bag, speaking softly to Sarah but if Bucky strained his ears he could just hear what they were saying.

“...most likely because of his first heat. There have been several cases of young omegas not taking care of themselves during their first heat and ending up with pneumonia,” the doctor murmured, a comforting smile on his face. “There’s an easy fix to this to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Oh?” Sarah muttered, “I’ve never heard that from a doctor before when it came to my son.”

“It’s an easy enough fix,” the doctor reached forward to pat her hand, “Since this is heat related, and your son is so sickly, I’d recommend removing the problem completely.”

Sarah’s face froze, a forced expression of politeness that was a cover for potential murder. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Sterilization. Let’s be honest Mrs. Rogers, Steven is far too frail to ever bear an alpha viable pups so it would just be kinder to to remove that from him,” the doctor looked stupidly pleased with himself and Bucky just wanted to punch him in the face for daring to even mention sterilizing Stevie. 

“Right then,” Sarah took a deep breath before nodding towards the door, “You’re payment or saving my son’s life is on the counter. Take it and get out of here before I break your face in.”

The doctor recoiled, confusion on his stupid face. “Mrs. Rogers? I don’t understand?”

“You just told me that you are recommending that I mutilate my baby boy, my twelve year old son, so he can never bond with someone, never start his own family,” Sarah snarled, teeth bared as she advanced on the retreating doctor, “The only reason why I am not physically tearing you apart right now is because you did save my son’s life. So get the fuck out of my house before I change my mind and rip your heart out with my bare hands.”

The doctor fled, tripping over himself to flee from Sarah’s murderous wrath as she stalked after him, murder blazing in her eyes. Bucky just tucked himself closer to Steve, a feeble attempt to protect him from the outside world as the apartment door slammed closed signaling that the doctor escaped with his life. 

The apartment was silent. A heavy oppressive thing that had tears slowly filling Bucky’s eyes as the stress of worrying over his best friend coupled with the doctor’s disgusting recommendation just became too much and he broke down crying helplessly into the pillow next to his unconscious best friend.

“It’s not fair how they treat you,” Bucky whimpered to Steve’s still form, “That they think you’re dumb or broken just cause you’re an omega who gets sick a lot! They're all stupid for not seeing how incredible you are Stevie, and you’ll be the best mate and best mama so there’s no reason for you to be sterilized!”

Because there really wasn’t. Steve was perfect the way he was. Sure, he fought anything that looked at him wrong, but he was also kind and just and gorgeous and Bucky knew he was madly in love with his best guy but it didn’t matter. Because Steve was perfection, and no doctor could ever convince him otherwise. 

Bucky leaned in to whisper softly to Steve. “One day, we’re going to get married and I’m going to take care of you,” Bucky promised, “And I’m going to fight anyone who says that you’re less than me cause they’re all blind. Because you Steve Rogers are so much more than I will ever be, and one day the entire world will see it.”It was so easy to lean forward and press a chaste kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Will you marry me Stevie?”

But of course Steve couldn’t answer. Not when he was still unconscious. 

With a resigned sigh, Bucky snuggled back in. “I’ll ask again when you wake up.”

“Sixteen.”

To his dying day, Bucky would deny that he jumped out of his skin when Sarah’s voice sounded right above him. 

“Jesus Mrs. Rogers,” Bucky gasped, his heart pounding madly in his chest as he twisted around to glare up at him, “Give some warning.”

She rolled her eyes at him, reaching over his head to smooth down Steve’s hair. “I want you to remember sixteen no matter what James Barnes,” she whispered, “Because one day you’ll ask my son to marry you when he’s conscious, and he’ll say yes. When he does, I want you to wait for the actual ceremony until Steve is at least sixteen.”

“Alright…” Bucky just stared up at her, confused about where this was coming from, “I’ll wait as long as Stevie wants me to, and you too I guess. Please don’t kill me!” He quickly added at her narrow eyed look. “I just thought you’d want us to wait until Steve was like...a million or something.”

An amused smile crossed her face at that. “Nothing that drastic. I just don’t think you’ll both be really ready for marriage until then at the youngest.” Sarah reached down, gently ruffling Bucky’s hair before stepping back. “If ask you to wait longer, It I’m trying to be realistic as I can.”

Bucky puffed up at that. “I’ll wait as long as you want Mrs. Rogers. Just you watch, I’ll show that I’m the best husband Steve could ever have.”

“Then in that case wait until Steve’s a million.”

“Nope, you said sixteen so that’s what I’m going with.”

“Cheeky brat,” Sarah teased headed towards the doorway, “Will you look after Steve while I’m at work tonight?”

How was that even a question. “I’ll always look after him.”

And it was true, a promise Bucky had made to himself as a child when he first met Steve. So he stayed by Steve’s side the entire time the omega recovered. Sure, he ended up missing two days of school and his mother was furious with him, but Bucky didn’t care.

Because he was the first thing Steve saw when he returned to consciousness. And that sunshine smile was worth everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarah and Bucky’s relationship is my favorite. My head cannon is Sarah just teases Bucky all the time for being a bad example. Except in the Langley Verse, there’s the added layer of “stop trying to marry my son, he’s a child Jesus Christ.” So Sarah likes Bucky, but is exasperated by him and Bucky is terrified of Steve’s mother. Along with all of the neighborhood. 
> 
> The reason why Sarah wants Steve to wait to marry until he’s at least sixteen will be covered next chapter. 
> 
> Sterilization is going to be a major issue Steve faces now that he’s considered an adult. His body is “mature” enough to get pregnant in society’s eyes, but he’s weak and sickly so eugenics say he shouldn’t reproduce. It won’t show up again (I’m not planning on it) but Steve will face this issue for the rest of his life.
> 
> Yeah, I think that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed. I’ll try to update soon, but am leaving for Europe in five days and I’ll be gone for quite a while. So if there’s radio silence for a while, know I’m still writing.


	4. Proposal Four- Bucky and Steve Age 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided the boys just needed a nice and light hearted type of proposal, and this was what I eventually settled on. I will say, this is the closest I’ve gotten so far to Steve saying yes.

Slamming the door shut behind him, Bucky snarled as he pressed Steve back into the apartments thin wall. He couldn’t help himself, couldn’t stop from slipping his hand up Steve’s skirt and grabbing his pert ass to drag Steve’s hips against his own. 

“Steve,” Bucky growled, burying his nose in Steve’s scent gland and just inhaling the sweet scent of omega in heat, “My Stevie…”

Steve gasped, head lolling back against the wall even as his hips desperately ground against Bucky’s. “Alpha,” Steve whimpered, heavy lidded eyes hazing with lust, “Alpha please...need you so much…”

“I know doll,” Bucky managed to drag his face away to drag Steve into a hungry kiss, “I’ve got you baby, don’t worry about a thing.”

Which had been the same thing Bucky had murmured for the last hour as he’d dragged Steve home from school. They’d been in English, Steve doodling on the back of his hand while Bucky stared blankly at the blackboard when the sweet smell of an omega in pre-heat had started to fill the classroom. The alphas in the room had started to perk up, their eyes roaming around the room to find the unmated omega pumping out pheromones.

But Bucky had recognized that sweet scent, all sandalwood and clove and the special musk of his Stevie, so he hadn’t wasted time. He’d lunged forward and dragged Steve out of the classroom before anyone had even registered that it was Steve who had gone into heat before rushing as quickly as he could to get them both in doors before Steve’s fill heat set in. 

He couldn’t remember getting back to the apartment clearly, could barely put it together in his head. It was all impressions, the sweet smell of Steve’s slick and his breathy little gasps, the interest of other alohas in the area, Bucky’s own warning growl as he dragged Steve onwards while promising to take care of everything whole too afraid to pick up the omega in case he lost control and bent Steve over the nearest fire escape and had his way with him. So really, it was a blessing that they made it inside before Bucky's control snapped. 

And snap it did, the second the key was in the lock and Steve’s pre-heat amped up into full heat. 

“God, you smell so good,” Bucky groaned, rutting against Steve desperately, “Oh, sweetheart, you’re everything I have ever wanted…”

“Buck, Buck, love you Buck,” Steve whimpered and it was so beautiful to hear him say that. So wonderful to hear since the first time Steve had whispered it with a sweet kiss back when they were fourteen behind the library before they’d started officially going steady. And every time Steve whispered his love, Bucky felt himself go weak with delight and grin like an idiot.

And of course, he had to answer back. “Love you too Stevie,” Bucky wrapped his free hand around Steve’s thigh and used it to pull the omega up so he could wrap his legs around Bucky’s waist. Which of course left Bucky’s hands free to roam further up the rumpled skirt while the other got to work unbuttoning Steve’s collar so he could access more of that skin. “Going to make this so good for you, going to love you like you deserve baby…”

“Yes, yes please Buck,” Steve’s moan was downright pornographic. He was so pretty, back bowed perfectly as he panted into Bucky’s mouth with breathy little gasps as Bucky continued to rut against him. “Please alpha, take me...make me yours…”

“Of course,” Bucky pressed another kiss to Steve’s mouth, “Going to make you mine, going to treat you right. Send you to college, make sure everyone knows how brilliant you are.” He groaned, pressing his forehead against Steve’s in as his eyes fell shut, “Marry me Steve...marry me and I’ll make all your dreams come true…”

Steve’s eyes fluttered open, a soft wondering expression on face. “Buck…”

And finally, Bucky thought he’d get the answer he had been waiting on since he was five years old. That Steve would smile and whisper yes, promise to stay by Bucky’s side forever so they could share a lifetime of happiness…

A strong hand wrapped around the back of Bucky’s neck and physically yanked, pulling him away from his future mate. A furious snarl left Bucky, all of fifteen years old and ready in his prime, ready to defend his soon to be mate as he turned to face the threat before him. 

The threat of a furious mother coming back from her shift at work to see her precious baby boy pinned against a wall where he was being defiled. One Sarah Rogers, teeth bared in a furious snarl that had never graced her face before as she flung Bucky away from Steve and across the apartment. 

“James Buchanan Barnes,” Sarah spat out, all dangerous rage as she advanced on the growling alpha, “Control yourself, or I’m throwing you out!”

And normally that would be enough to have Bucky ducking his head shyly, offering Sarah a charming grin while begging to get back in her good graces so he could return to Steve’s side. Except this wasn’t a normal situation. Because Steve was in full blown heat, slowly dragging Bucky into a rut right along with him that had the alpha losing all control of his mind except for the overwhelming urge to find, claim, and mate.

So it was with that urge overtaking all common sense that had Bucky facing down Sarah and pulling his teeth back to snarl in an open threat. 

Sarah, already furious, just narrowed her eyes before lunging forward. 

Now, what Bucky in his hormone induced stupidity forgot was that Sarah was a nurse, used to working with furious alphas all day when their omegas were brought in. She faced down men and women with more experience than Bucky, stronger and fiercer than him too, on a daily basis. So a fifteen year old trying to get his hands on her baby? That was child’s play to deal with. 

It was with practiced ease that her hand dug into the side of Bucky’s neck, her thumb pressed right under his Adam’s apple while the rest of her fingers pressed hard into his spine. She dug deep, hitting the spot that had pups going limp when their parents scruffed them and causing Bucky’s knees to give out for a brief second. 

That second was all she needed to let go of his neck, grab his ear, and yank hard, tugging the yowling boy out of the room and gracelessly throwing Bucky out the front door and onto the stoop. “You are going to head home, and cool off,” Sarah snarled, blocking the doorway firmly with her body. “And when Steve’s heat is done, you will come back and apologize to me for your behavior today or I will physically make you, you foolish boy.”

And with that, Sarah slammed the door shut and locked it. 

She took a deep breath, praying for patience to deal with hormone controlled boys, before turning to face her son with the most annoyed look she could manage. And it was quite annoyed, she was proud of it, seeing how Steve’s dress was still rumpled where he slumped against the wall staring at the door with pitiful eyes that were just pleading for Bucky to come back.

“Steven,” Sarah ground out, annoyance clear in her voice, “We talked about this during your last heat.” When the same exact situation had occurred. “You are too young to end up mated.”

Those mournful blue eyes turned to her, watery with the pain of being separated from his chosen alpha. “But Mamí, I love Bucky…”

Sarah rolled her eyes. Steve’s sickly constitution made it impossible for him to be this far gone in heat craze. It would take at least half a day for his brain to stop working. “Nice try boyo. The water works stopped working when you were four, don’t try them now.”

And just like that, the tears disappeared leaving the universal annoyed look all fifteen year olds seemed to possess. “Did you really have to throw Bucky outside?”

“Yes I did. And be glad that’s all I did instead of letting him have it for groping you in the middle of my living room,” Sarah rolled her eyes again, tugging Steve into a hug. “You couldn’t have at least made it to your room? Or the couch?”

Steve shrugged, but snuggled into her arms with a happy little pur, basking in the affection being so freely offered. “Bunch of guys were catcalling and made Buck all jealous.”

“Still not an excuse for acting that way, and you both know it.” She pressed a kiss to her darling boy’s forehead, basking in the feel of him safe and healthy in her arms. “I know you love Bucky, and I know you’re going to want to end up married and mated. But you have to wait until you’re at least sixteen. You are brilliant, and if you can get to college I just know you’re going to change the world. But no college is going to accept an omega who mated before they graduated high school because…”

“That’s a sign they’re only going to care about pups,” Steve whispered, eyes falling to the floor in the same frustrated rage that he’d had since the first day he’d been forced into a dress against his will. “I know Mamí. I’ll do my best.”

“You’ll do more than your best, you’re going to excell,” Sarah announced, pulling away just far enough to guide Steve into his bedroom. “You’re going to be the first  
on this block to get a college degree. And nothing is going to stand in your way, not your health, not society, not expectations about omegas, not even idiot boys, understand me?”

“I understand,” Steve promised, face filling with the determination he would need to succeed in the face of everything already in his path, “I’ll make you proud Mamí.”

“Oh my love, I’m already proud of you,” and she really was. Her son, who’d she been told wouldn’t live past the age of ten, was the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her life. She would move heaven and earth to make sure Steve achieved his full potential in a world stack against him from the start. 

Steve smiled shyly at her praise, a sweet expression that automatically made her suspicious (her son was many thing, shy had never been one of them). “Since you’re already proud of me, can I bring Bucky back?”

“No.” Honestly, what was she going to do with these boys?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly couldn’t think of a better proposal than Bucky asking right before sex, and then having Sarah come in and interrupt it. Because honestly, Bucky should know better than to defile her baby cause she’s a terrifying mama who doesn’t put up with alpha crap. Please enjoy the lighthearted break, I’ll bring back the regularly scheduled angst next chapter.
> 
> Also, I leave Wednesday to Europe so updates will be scarce. If you’re interested in seeing what I’m doing instead of writing for a whole month, I’ve included a link below to my travel blog. Not going to lie, I’m going to be getting a ton of inspiration for future stories when I go. 
> 
> If you’re interested, feel free to check here: https://summerwanderlust363262357.wordpress.com


	5. Proposal Five- Bucky 17, Steve 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look whose not dead! I just got back from Europe where I had no time to write or post, and wanted to post this. I totally wrote it on the plane for all of you and wanted to get it up as soon as possible. 
> 
> This is a bit shorter than planned, but jet lag is kicking my butt so I’m posting this and then passing out for about two days.

The wake was in full swing in the apartment below as Bucky snuck out onto the fire escape. He knew his parents were aware of where he had wandered, had seen the knowing glands his mother had given him as he crept out the kitchen window into the cool summer air. There was a general understanding in the neighborhood that Bucky would leave early, would go beyond the bonds of propriety and seek out an unmated omega on the cusp of heat without a bonded chaperone to stand guard over them. 

But what was Bucky supposed to do, he mused while clambering over the rickety stairs and onto the roof. Just leave his omega to suffer? To face the tragedy alone without a friend in the world, to let his love face an unknown world alone?

No, Bucky couldn’t do that. It was beyond him. So he stepped onto the roof and gazed across it to the lone figure still standing there, tall and proud against the smoggy Brooklyn skies. 

Steve was tragically beautiful tonight. He stood as tall as possible, his crooked spine making it difficult for him to be the straight and proud beacon everyone knew him to be. He should be wearing a mourning dress, but no one had wanted to fight Steve into the damn thing this morning. And with Sarah...well. Bucky was responsible for his best guy and he had refused to make today any harder on the omega than it already was. 

Hesitantly, Bucky walked forward. He knew Steve could hear him, even half deaf the omega had an uncanny ability to hear people sneaking up on him. Still, it was easy for Bucky to reach out, to wrap a warm arm around a slender waist and pull his boy in close. “Hey,” Bucky whispered, pressing his nose against Steve’s scent gland, “You ready to come back inside?”

Steve didn't answer. His thin shoulders shook with silent sobs as red rimmed eyes stared blearily out over the city scape. Tears fell shamelessly down his handsome face. That was something Bucky had always admired in his omega. His ability to cry, even when the whole world told him not to. 

“Sweetheart…”

“I can't go in there,” Steve rasped out, voice rough from crying. “Please don't make me go back inside.”

“I won't,” Bucky promised, “We’ll stay right out here as long as you need doll. There's no reason for us to move.”

And there really wasn't. Not when Bucky blocked the worst of the wind and cold with his body, allowing Steve to shut his eyes and lean in close for comfort and pretend. Pretend that the world was fair, that everything would be fine tomorrow. That his life hadn't changed horribly just two days ago, leaving him alone and dependent on the Barnes family for their charity. 

That it wasn’t his mother’s wake that Steve was avoiding tonight. 

Bucky sighed, tugging Steve in closer to press a quick kiss to his forehead. “Marry me,” Bucky whispered softly. 

Incredulous, Steve pulled back to stare at Bucky. “You could not possibly think this is a good time for that question.”

“It's the perfect time for it,” Bucky protested. “When everything is going to hell you know that I'm here waiting for you.”

“Buck…”

“We’ll follow your Ma’s wishes, we won't have the ceremony until you are at least seventeen. But the day that happens, we’ll go down to the church. Same church we’ve been going to forever. And I’ll swear in front of God and everyone to always honor and love you, until the end of time itself. Then, when the ceremony is done I'll take you home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah sweetheart. I'll get us an actual home by then. One with an actual garden,” he promised. And as he stared out over the smoggy Brooklyn skies he could just imagine it, the home they would build together and taste the grass on his tongue, “A yard, and plenty of space for pups to grow and play. Just a few pups really, not that much in the long run. Lots of green and good, clean air so you don't have to worry about asthma anymore.”

“Just a few pups?” Steve asked, a bit of his dry humor creeping back in, “How many pups are you planning on?”

“Enough for a whole baseball team,” Bucky teased delighting in the annoyed growl that prompted out of his Stevie, the first sign of actual emotion and life he'd shown since Sarah’s death. “Just...marry me and I’ll make it all better. I'll make all these dreams reality, make you the happiest man alive.”

Steve’s smile was a sad thing. “No,” Steve whispered, his voice cracking once more with grief and tears, “I can't say yes. Not today. Not when I have to bury my mother tomorrow Bucky. Just, not today.”

“Alright,” Bucky murmured, “Not today then. Is there anything I can do for you though?” Because really, Bucky had never felt so helpless as he did tonight. Any direction, any prompting on what he could do to even take a fraction of the burden off of Steve would be welcome right now. 

“Just...don't leave me,” Steve begged, tears sliding down his face again, “I can't…”

“I'm not going anywhere.” Bucky promised, “I’ll always be right here when you need me sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst in this chapter, but really I couldn’t think of any other good time for Bucky to propose. The next chapter should be more light hearted at least.


	6. Proposal 6- Bucky 18, Steve 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! Then I’ll get to work on the sequel to a Hidden Figure (yes, it is in the works). But until then, enjoy the chapter.
> 
> There’s a short amount of angst cause I realized the scandal that would show up when Bucky and Steve were living together not married. So that’s mentioned here. It’s brief, but still a major issue I can see the boys facing.

Steve knew what people outside the neighborhood said about him. They muttered about him living unmarried with an alpha, tongues wagging about how his honor has been tarnished and nothing will make him respectable again. 

But the people in the neighborhood knew differently. Already, Steve had been introduced by no less than seven different alphas and betas who proudly announced to him that they had taught some jerk a lesson for their inappropriate comments over Steve’s virtue. A few waitresses had thrown coffee in jerks faces, or denied them service. And on one memorable moment, Winifred Barnes had coldly lit into the substitute pastor for refusing to serve a whore like Steve communion. How dare he, she had seethed with her voice ringing out over the congregation, deny to give communion to a pure young orphaned omega like Steve who was being protected by his fiancée. How dare he deign to cast judgement on her soon-to-be-son-in-law, when the wedding was two days away?

And shame faced, the priest had given Steve communion while Steve missed his mother something fierce because Sarah Rogers would have just punched that man instead of shame him.

The worst though, the one that made Steve think, was when Bucky had been arrested. It had been for assault, Bucky having attacked someone at the docks. Steve’s lungs had seized up when he heard the court was thinking of naming Bucky as being feral, a sentence that would have ended with the alpha being shot for the good of society. But Steve had managed to get Bucky out of it, sitting in the front row of the court seats and wailing as loud as he could so the judge took pity on the sickly, frail omega and let Bucky off with a warning. 

“What were you thinking?” Steve had demanded, furious that night when he dragged a surly Bucky back into the apartment, “What on earth possessed you to get in a fight like that!”

“It’s nothing,” Bucky snarled, expression furious even as he turned away, “Besides, you should be in bed already. You’ve got a month left in high school Stevie…”

“Damn the school,” Steve spat out.

But that was the wrong thing to say. Because Bucky turned, furious and snarling to cage Steve against the apartment wall. “You will be finishing school and getting that diploma,” Bucky snarled, alpha command making Steve’s knees weak, “I did not drop out to put you through school to watch you throw this chance away! Nothing is more important than that!”

“You are,” Steve snapped back, nuzzling against Bucky’s neck as aggressively as he could, “Nothing is more important to me than you Buck, and some judge nearly took you away from me! So excuse me for worrying and wanting to be close!”

And that dragged the fight right out of Bucky’s shoulders. “I know. I’m sorry love,” Bucky whispered, arms softening to drag Steve in for a gentle kiss, “It’s just…I know you’re going to be amazing and I just want to get you there.”

“It’s doesn't matter without you, stupid. Now come to bed.” 

That night when they had been intertwined, Steve tucked securely away from the door, that Bucky admitted why he’d punched a co-worker in the face. “He kept insulting you,” was the resigned whisper, “Calling you my bitch, talking about how loose you had to be after taking my knot like a whore…”

“Buck…”

“I just couldn’t take it,” Bucky whined, a childish noise that he hadn’t made since they were ten, “I had to listen to him disrespect you for a three months and just couldn’t anymore.”

“Oh love,” Steve leaned up to press an adoring kiss to the stubble chin of his alpha, “I’m so sorry.”

And the next morning, with light shining through the window, neither of them talked about it. Steve just kissed Bucky goodbye as he went off to work before heading off to school himself. But that conversation was there, lurking in the back of Steve’s mind along with the looks people gave them when they went out together and the constant comments. 

Steve kept expecting Bucky to offer to marry him again to make the comments stop. And at this point, Steve was more than ready to say yes. Age wasn’t an issue, there was no major tragedies or deaths that had to be seen too. It was a perfect time for them to get married.

Except Steve graduated. Received his diploma making his silly mate beam with pride and brag to the world. But no proposal. 

Three weeks later, the proposal still hadn’t happened. And a small part of Steve was terrified by it. He’d let Bucky mate him months ago, the claiming bite clear on his neck. And while he knew Bucky wasn’t the type to mate an omega, drag them to ruin then leave them, the lack of marriage discussion had a small part of Steve terrified he would be ruined. 

That fear lasted about an hour, then determination set in. Now Steve was determined to get married. To get the last little scrap of stability in his life and nothing was going to stop him. All he needed was the proper occasion to bring up the marriage discussion.

And luckily for him, the perfect occasion had just come in the mail. The perfect way to make his mother proud, and to get Bucky to marry him. So Steve settled in at the rickety kitchen table. It was easy to spread the papers out and artfully arrange them into just the right amount of mess as Bucky came home from work.

“What’s all this,” was Bucky’s bemused question as he came forward to press a loving kiss to golden hair. 

“Came in the mail for me,” Steve made sure to sound absent minded as he quickly scratched out the arithmetic. God, it was so boring. If he hadn’t been putting on a show he would have finished the math in two minutes.

“I can see that smart ass. Your name is on it,” Bucky teased, “But what is it?”

“College stuff. I’ve been accepted to study math,” Steve responded primly as he shuffled the papers (and if his elbow dug into Bucky’s side for sniggering, oh well), “I’m just checking the finance.”

“What’s wrong with the finances?” Bucky demanded, sliding into the chair next to Steve’s.

“It’s about $450 a term,” Steve said absently, ducking his head to hide the smirk at the wheeze Bucky made at the cost. 

“450,” he gasped out.

“Mmhm. But I might be able to qualify for a discount,” Steve shrugged, making sure to be loose and relaxed so he didn’t blow it. 

“If you qualify, you should take it,” Bucky muttered, “God. $450. How are we going to afford that?”

“I can qualify for a hundred dollar discount,” Steve made sure his eyes were big and blue as he stared at Bucky, “But only if I’m married.”

Bucky’s shock turned into sly amusement. A knowing look crossed his face as he turned to stare at Steve. “Oh really?” Bucky teased, voice a low rumble, “Married you say?”

“Oh yes, quite a high discount,” Steve nodded decisively, “We should get married as soon as possible.”

Bucky grinned, wrapping a strong arm around Steve’s waist and dragging him in close. “Well, if it’ll save us a hundred dollars. Can’t say no to that. Soon as possible?”

“Already got a wedding dress all picked out,” Steve announced smugly as he rested his cheek on Bucky’s shoulder, “So just waiting on you Mr. Barnes.”

“Don’t have to wait long, doll. Got my Sunday best ready. Just let me run down to the church and set the earliest date.”

“What about rings jerk? Need those for marriage.”

“Already taken care of. I’ve had out wedding rings ready since you were fifteen,” Bucky admitted, a blush spearing across his cheeks.

Steve smiled back. God, he was mated to a sap. “Knew I was a sure thing then?”

“I’ve wanted to marry you since I was five,” Bucky murmured gently, “The second you wanted, I’d marry you.”

“Sap,” Steve murmured. Everything just felt fuzzy and perfect right now. Like his entire world made since, and nothing bad could ever happen. It was perfect.

“You know Stevie. You could have just asked me to marry you like a normal person. Didn’t need to use college as an excuse.”

“Bite me Barnes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s the story done! They finally get married!!!!
> 
> Plus, I did research and without room and board the universities in the 1930’s did charge about $450 a term. Which made me sob a little (as I pay $700 a month to pay off my college loans for the next ten years, dear god why?). 
> 
> There weren’t discounts for marriage, but I decided to include one because they’re going to school during the Depression so in my mind the schools are trying to get any money they can. And if they get a few omegas, who’ll probably drop out due to pregnancy? Just another revenue opportunity. Man. I am so cynical.

**Author's Note:**

> Steve thinking marriage means moving to a new country comes from Sarah. When Steve was three, he asked her why she moved to America from Ireland. My head cannon is that she left Ireland because she pissed off the British when Ireland was still a colony and Joseph was all “Nope!” and took her and ran instead of her going to jail. So they escaped, Ireland gained independence, but made a life in the US and didn’t want to go back.
> 
> Except that’s a lot to explain to a three year old, so Sarah kind of just went “Uh...cause I got married and that’s what you do” which is where Steve got this idea. He’ll learn the truth when he’s a bit older.


End file.
